Pénzpolitikának

Pénzpolitikának, often translated as monetary policy, refers to the actions undertaken by a central bank to manipulate the money supply and credit conditions to stimulate or restrain economic activity. The primary goals of monetary policy typically include maintaining price stability, fostering full employment, and ensuring moderate long-term interest rates. Central banks achieve these objectives through various tools.

One key tool is the setting of interest rates, specifically the policy rate or central bank rate. By adjusting this rate, the central bank influences borrowing costs for commercial banks, which in turn affects the interest rates offered to businesses and consumers. Lowering interest rates generally encourages borrowing and spending, stimulating economic growth, while raising rates aims to curb inflation by making borrowing more expensive.

Another important instrument is open market operations, where the central bank buys or sells government securities in the open market. When the central bank buys securities, it injects money into the economy, increasing the money supply and potentially lowering interest rates. Conversely, selling securities withdraws money from circulation, tightening credit conditions. Reserve requirements, the fraction of deposits that commercial banks must hold in reserve, also play a role, though they are used less frequently in many modern economies.

Quantitative easing (QE) is a more unconventional tool, employed when traditional interest rate policy has reached its limits. QE involves the central bank purchasing long-term government bonds or other securities to inject liquidity directly into the financial system and lower long-term interest rates. The effectiveness and consequences of different monetary policy strategies are subjects of ongoing debate among economists.